Sled-bench.



0. PEARSON.

SLED BENCH. APPLICATION LED MAR-1 1915. l 9 1 83,221, Patented May 16, 1916.

5 Q I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- 11E]..- I 2/ THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, n. c.

wirbnemo I v 0. PEARSON.

SLED BENCH. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1. 1-915.

1,1 83,227. Patented May 16, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- OTTOPEAR-SON, or MOUNT JEWETT. PENNSYLVANIA.

SLED-BENCH.

Specificationo f Letters Patent.

Patented May it, 1916.

Application filed March. 1, 1915. Serial No. 11,234..

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, OTTO PEARsoN, a subject of the King of Sweden, residingat Mount Jewett, in the county of McKean. and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sled: Benches; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of'the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to. improvements in sleds and more particularly to benches therefor.

One object of. the invention is to provide a sled bench which is so constructed that the offset ends thereofwill not crack or break and which relieves the runners of ex.- traordinary strains.

Another object is to so construct a bench of this character which while cheapto manufacture will not buckle when subjected to jars from the side of the sled which occur when the sled skids sidewise.

Another object is to provide a light, strong and durable device of this character which. is

also cheap to manufacture. t

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features.

of construction and the combination and V arrangement ofparts. as will be hereinafter morefully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of a sled equipped with this. improved bench; Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of a portion thereof; Fig. 3, is a vertical transverse section taken on the, line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken on the line l4 of Fig. 3 Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the bench; Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the benches; Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the cross bar of the bench Fig. 8 is a de-v tail perspective view of one of the spacing elements arranged between the crossbar and the knee; Fig. 9 is a plan view of the blank from which the knee is constructed; Fig. 10 is a detail longitudinal section of one, end of. the bench showing a slightly diifer-- ent form of the invention; and, Fig. 11 isa 7 detail perspective view thereof.

In the embodiment illustrated, a sled S is shown having the usual runners which may be constructed of any suitable material and of any desired cross sectional configuration. A top '1 is shown supported by, the.

runners R and connected therewith by benches 1 which constitute this invention.

A steering bar A is shown connecting the topT with the cross bar B which connects the front ends. of the runners to adapt the runnersto be flexed for steering purposes but. this construction is not necessary for sleds equipped with this invention as these bIBIaChGS may be employed in any form of s e The bench 1 which constitutes this invention comprises a cross bar 2 and knees 3 and 4a which are movably connected with said cross bar in a manner to be described. The cross bar 2 is preferably constructed from a single piece of sheet metal which is bent to. form a channel bar as shown in Fig. 7. The ends of this cross bar 2 are offset downwardly from the top of the beam to form seats for the side bars of the sled frame, said offset ends being apertured to receive fastening elements for securing them to the side bars and also to the knees as will be hereinafter described. This cross bar 2 is also provided with apertures 5 spaced in: wardly from the, apertures in the oifset outer ends thereof for receiving fastening elements. which connect the knees with the beam and also the beam to the top.

The knees 3 and 4 which support the ends of; the cross bar or beam 2 and connect it with the runners R are preferably constructed from the blank shown in Fig. 9 to adapt them to be made from small sheets of metal thereby economizing in the construction of said. knees. The blank from which each knee is constructed comprises a body portion- 6. having diverging arms 7 which are bifurcated at their free ends to form attaching lugs 8 and said arms 7 are folded longitudinally to position said lugs opposite each other and adapt them to straddle the upstanding flange of the runner as shown in Figs. 3, 5, and 6 said lugs being apertured as is also the flange of the runner to receive the fastening bolts or rivets which connect the free ends of the knee to the runner. The body, portion 6 of the blank from which the knee is constructed is left unfolded to adapt it to fit flatly against spacing members 10 which arev disposed in the channel. bars 2 as will be hereinafter described. This body portion. 6 between the arms 7 of the knee is provided with. transversely alined apertures one of which is in the form of an arcuate slot 9,- which is here shown arranged at the inner end of said body portion to provide for the movement of the knee relatively to the bench as will be described.

A cross bar reinforcing member and knee bearing 10, is here shown disposed in the bar 2 at each end. thereof and substantially fills said bar, with its outer face presenting a flat surface for receiving the flat body portion 6 of the knees 3 and i. This member 10 which performs the double function of a reinforcing device for the cross bar and as a connecting and spacing means for the knee is preferably formed as shown in Fig. 8, the body portion 12 of which is substantially rectangular in form with side flanges 13 bent laterally inward and adapted to extend over and engage the edges of the flanges of the bar 2. A flange 14: is also formed at one end of the body 12 with the ends thereof spaced from the adjacent ends of the flanges 13 to provide for the reception between them of the side walls of the cross bar 2, said flange 1 1 being designed to fit between the flanges of the cross bar and being of a length slightly less than the distancebetween said cross bar flanges. The width of this flange 1 1 is substantially the same as the width of the flanges of the cross bar 2 at their outer ends so that after said member 10 is applied this flange 14c fits in the end of said cross bar and completely fills the space forming substantially a closure therefor and at the same time constituting a reinforcing and bracing member.

A tongue 15 extends laterally from the other end of the body portion 12 of the member 10 and is of a width corresponding to the distance between the flanges of the cross bar to adapt it to fit in between said flanges when applied. This tongue is bent inwardly at right angles to the attached end thereof and extended parallel with the body 12 of the member 10 to provide a bracing plate 16 which may be of any desired length being herein shown about one-half the length of the body 12 of the device 10. The laterally extending spacing member 17 which connects the plate 16 with the body 12 is of a length corresponding to the width of the cross bar 2 at points beyond the offset ends thereof so that when the device is applied the plate 16 will engage the inner face of the connecting bar of the cross bar 2, the

flange l l'and spacing member 17 preventing the flanges of the cross bar from being forced inwardly toward each other and the fianges'13 prevent them from being bowed V outwardly. The plate 16 and the body portion 12 of the member 10 are provided with registering apertures 18 to receive fastening bolts 19 Which pass through these apertures and through the aperture 5vin the cross bar 2. These bolts 19 also are designed to pass through the top T and through the arcuate slot 9 in the body portion 6 ofthe knee which is mounted on this end of the cross bar, it being understood that one of these members 10 is arranged at each end of the cross bar and that a knee is supported thereby. A fastening element 20 preferably in the form of a bolt is extended through the aperture in the outer end of the body 6 of the knee and through an aperture 21 formed in the outer end of the body portion 12 of the spacing element 10 and extends through the aperture formed in the offset end of the cross bar 2 and through the, adjacent side bar of the sled top. By this means the knees, spacing members 10, cross bars 2 and top T are connected, the arcuate slot 9' in the body portion of the knee permitting said knee to move laterally relatively to the cross bar and V thus prevent the necessity ofthe runner with I which said knee is connected from being bent, thereby relieving the runner of extraordlnary strains.

From the above description it will be Obi vious that the cross bars, knees and spacing elements may be cut from strips of metal with practically no waste except for the holes and slots and yet when assembled forms a very strong, light and durable bench and that the members 10 which are disposed between the knees and the cross bar at opposite ends of the bench will prevent the cross bar from buckling and also pre-:

vent the bolts or rivets which hold the knees from a tendency to wobble.

In the form shown in Figs. 10 '11 the bracing and connecting memberll is corn structed similarlyto the member 11 of the other figures except that instead of having the flange 14 at the outer endythereof ar-* ranged as shown in the otherfigures, this flange is extended and oifsetinwardly, being of a width equalto thedistance between the flangesof the'cross bar and whichis designed to engage the inner faceof the offset end of said crossbar and lie between the flanges thereof thereby preventing the collapse of the flanges and forming a reinforce for the connecting barthereof. This plate 14: is apertured to receive the bolt which passes through the aperture in the outer end of the cross bar 2 and through the side bar ofthe sled top. The remainder of this member. 11 is the same in construction as the member 10 in the other figures. r

I claim as my invention:

1; A sled bench comprising across bar composed of channel iron with the ends of mounted in the ends of said bar and comprising substantially rectangular plates having side flanges overlapping the flanges of said bar, a flange at one end of said plate a with its ends spaced from the side flanges thereof and extending in the same direction as said side flanges and adapted to fit between the flanges of the bar, a tongue extending inwardly from the other end of said 10 plate and parallel therewith, said tongue being spaced from said plate, and a knee mounted on said plate.

8. A sled bench comprising a channel iron cross bar, reinforcing and spacing members 15 mounted in the ends of said bar and comprising substantially rectangular plates having side flanges overlapping the flanges of said bar, a flange at one end of said plate with its ends spaced from the side flanges thereof and extending in the same direction 20 as said side flanges and adapted to fit between the flanges of the bar, a flange at the other end of said plate with its ends spaced from the side flanges thereof, a tongue extending inwardly from the free end of said 25 flange and bearing on the inner face of the cross bar, and a knee mounted on said plate.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- Gopiea of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patenta, Washington, D. G. 

